Junction boxes for containing electrical connections are known in the prior art, and typically includes a housing with one or more plates securable thereto. Reference is made, for example, to U.S. Pat. No. 3,215,769 (the “Slater '769 patent”) for a cast weatherproof electrical outlet box with staked end plates for mounting electrical wiring devices. The Slater '769 patent discloses end plates that are installed onto a casting. The plates are permanently held in position by stakes formed in the end plates and complementary recesses formed in the casting.
The prior art also includes junction boxes such as the prior art junction box shown in FIG. 1, which includes a housing and two mounting straps secured thereto. The housing includes tab-like lugs integrally formed with the walls of the housing, and the mounting straps have open channels along the edges thereof for securingly receiving the lugs. Further illustrative of the prior art, FIGS. 2 and 3 show another prior art junction box that also includes a housing and two mounting straps secured thereto. The housing of the prior art junction box of FIGS. 2 and 3 includes posts that are each formed as a right cylinder. The mounting straps of the prior art junction box of FIGS. 2 and 3 have conventional bores formed therethrough for receiving the right cylinders.
Junction boxes are often the subject of evaluation by organizations that promulgate standards in connection therewith. These standards propose that a junction box should have a minimum resistance to the environmental forces that are typically applied to the junction box. However, the magnitude of the environmental forces applied to a junction box has increased over time, and what is needed in the art is a reinforced junction box that is resistant to increased environmental forces.